


Licht und Schatten

by FairyQueen (etoilecourageuse)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Wartime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-03
Updated: 2015-07-03
Packaged: 2018-04-07 12:51:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4263891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/etoilecourageuse/pseuds/FairyQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the war begins to rage, Druella Black realises that none of them will ever be safe. But she is willing to do anything to protect her family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Licht und Schatten

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bluemermaid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluemermaid/gifts).



They would never be safe. Druella Black could scarcely keep her fingers from trembling as she tended to her husband’s wound, a large but superficial cut on his chest that was causing him obvious pain yet was far from fatal. Still, though… Still she trembled, still she worried, worried so… 

They would never be safe. Only fools could deny that they were at war, that he who prided himself as the Dark Lord was ascending to power greater than any of them had ever dared to imagine. They would never be safe. If he found out the truth, if he realised… Each word they spoke, each thought that crossed their minds, no matter how secretly, no matter how briefly, was a sin in his eyes and ears, could mean their certain… 

No. Druella would not, could not, finish her thought, forced herself to focus on her husband whose skin was now pristine, who once more seemed to look right through her and was now enfolding her into his arms, cradling her close to him, so tenderly kissing her forehead. He was so gentle… To imagine that this battle had only been the first of many more to follow, to worry, to worry day by day and night by night that he could be summoned more, to fight in another battle, to raid more villages, to torture and murder innocents… If they noticed that he did no harm, that he was merely defending himself… She could not stand it, could not stand it! He was a Black, Cygnus was a Black, a man of purest blood, what would it do to harm those so inferior to him, what would it do to be feared rather than respected? 

“It will be all right, Ella,” he murmured, and Druella desired so desperately to believe his words, to believe that they were true… But he, too, was frightened, his heart and soul heavy from the burden put on him, could scarcely look into her eyes. He, too, was afraid. 

She would not let him go. How many times had she told herself, sworn to herself that she would not let him go into battle… He was a skilled dueller, the most powerful wizard she had ever known… And yet she worried, worried so… If he were harmed once more, wounded more severely, fatally… His death would mean her own, too. 

Countless times had she considered going in his stead, to fight in his stead, perhaps to fall in his stead… But her body was still weakened from the fever that had taken hold of her mere weeks before, that had taken hold of Andy, too, their sweet daughter who had nearly lost the battle against the illness so cruel, so merciless. But she hadn’t. She was strong, so strong, hadn’t lost the battle and neither had Druella, yet they both were recovering still, they both were weakened… So how could she, how could she possibly take his place and fight?

Andromeda needed her, too. Her daughter needed her, her — their — little princess whom they both were so desperate to protect… She needed her mother, needed both her parents. Druella noticed her despair, noticed her concern and her struggle against her emotions, her fierce desire to remain strong, strong for those she loved the most, strong for her family. Andy would smile at them, would laugh, and yet… Yet her eyes told of nothing but fear. She needed them, needed them both… And they needed her. 

“It will be all right,” Cygnus spoke once more, interrupting her thoughts so abruptly that it caused her to wince, to look up in surprise as though she had forgotten about her husband’s presence. How weary he looked… And yet he smiled, smiled only for her. “Trust me, cara mia. It will be all right.”

*

 

Each day was the same, full of worry, full of unspoken fears, full of hidden sorrow. Each day was the same, with more summons and more battles, small battles and yet… Cygnus was not harmed again but he changed, changed as they all changed; Druella did not know how long they would be able to go on like this, knew only that it was merely a matter of time until they would break, until everything would fall apart. 

Andy was still bedridden, and so Druella would sit by her side in times Cygnus was gone, would hold her daughter’s hand and look at her, smile at her and caress her, soothe her into sleep by making quiet promises that it would be all right, that everything would be all right, speaking to her daughter as her husband spoke to her. Andy grew stronger with every day passing, was nearly back to full health and yet still in such need of rest as the fever had more than once returned to claim her, to push her into the darkness once more, still so pale, still so fragile. Her younger daughter, too, was fragile, Cissy, so fragile and yet so strong… She had her husband by her side, Lucius, who would do everything for her, anything… She would be safe, she would be all right. Everything would be all right. 

It would be all right… What other choice did Druella have than to believe that it was the truth? If she didn’t, if she were to doubt… It would mean the end. And so the days went by, each the same, each a torment. It would be all right… 

The nights were the worst. At night they could no longer hold back their concern, their emotions, at night they trembled so beyond belief. At night, their tears would begin to fall and not dry out until the morrow. 

Minutes had passed since her daughter had faded into sleep at last, once more fevered and moaning in quiet agony, when Druella realised that this was no ordinary night, when so suddenly she began to shiver, began to shiver in horror at her dream-like premonition, closing her eyes and holding her breath, praying, praying that it would not be true, that her own fatigue caused her mind, her imagination, to fool her, to show her terrible images of nothing but destruction. She closed her eyes, closed her eyes and prayed, prayed perhaps for the first time in her life, prayed to any God that would listen… 

But no. Of course not. Druella nearly screamed as Cygnus burst into the room and rose from her seat so quickly that she stumbled, that everything began to spin around her… But soon she steadied herself, gasped for breath as she caught sight of her husband at last… His entire body was trembling whether with fright or weakness she did not know, he was covered in blood, so much blood, blood staining his robes, his skin… 

Cygnus opened his mouth to speak but words were not necessary, had never been necessary… Druella understood immediately. He had been discovered. They needed to leave, needed to leave in this very moment, could not hesitate as any minute, any second of hesitation would mean their certain death. They needed to leave! But where would they go, where… She, too, began to tremble, felt a sudden rush of panic as she turned away from her husband to glance at Andy, her princess, whose condition had so drastically decreased in these past hours, who lay there in her bed, drenched in sweat… Andy… Andy, her sweet daughter… 

“Maman…,” she murmured, stirred restlessly yet did not open her eyes, not even when Druella gathered her weak body into her arms, propping her up against her and nearly breaking down beneath her weight… 

“They saw me kill one of their men,” whispered Cygnus as he rushed to her assistance, supporting them both, eyes wild with fear. “They’re coming… They’re coming, Ella, we need to leave…” 

Andy. How could they leave when Andy was so weak, when it was so uncertain what the journey would do to her, when they did not know… But how could they stay? How could they possibly stay…? Breathe. Druella forced herself to breathe, forced herself into calmness, forced herself to think… There was no time to think. There was no time to… Again she nearly screamed, wanted nothing more than to scream, than to succumb to her rising hysteria and to scream… 

But instead she cradled her daughter’s fevered body close to her, desperate to soothe her quiet moans and to hold her, to never cease to hold her as Cygnus appeared too weak to carry her… She would give her life for Andromeda’s, would gladly succumb to Death if only it meant to save her, to save her girl… 

There were voices to be heard, men’s voices, so far away and yet coming closer and closer; there were screams, shouts, curses most foul… It was only a matter of seconds before they would… Smoke. She smelled smoke. 

They had lost everything. Within one night, one sudden moment, they had lost everything, had lost everything except each other… And yet, wasn’t it all that mattered? Wasn’t it all that mattered that they still had one another, that they would be together, always, always protecting each other? If only they were safe, if Cygnus and Andy were safe, if Cissy were safe so far away from them, it would be all right, truly all right. What did they need, except each other? Family was everything, they were everything. They were everything. As Druella took hold of her husband’s wrist with her left hand and held Andromeda so tightly to her with her right, she prayed once more, closed her eyes once more and prayed, prayed still as they entered into the darkness as one.


End file.
